UK magazine reviews
of Insert Audio cables
(in date order)

Review of Scart 1.2 by "What Video & TV",
(May 2000),
which has awarded this cable "Best Buy" status.


Most bundled scarts are cheap and nasty, but not this (3m) one. It's impressively made (inside and out), and the connectors ooze class. So too does the performance, with DVD's yielding a crisper picture.

Unfortunately, any sonic benefits are unlikely to be realised with the average TV sound system. The speaker and amps built into our rear-projection set are above average, but any improvement was lost on even these!

The length of this cable (3m) gives it practical benefits if you plan to locate your VCR and DVD player on a projection TV's flat top. 1m (£20) and 5m (£40) versions are also available.

(Other lengths available are 0.5m, 2m, 4m, 7m and 10m).

Review of Dataline 750 by "What Video & TV",
(May 2000),
which has been awarded a "Best Buy" award.


Excellent, excellent, excellent! This 5m s-video to s-video cable routes only the vision signal to the TV. Audio is fed, via other cables, directly to a hi-fi or AV system - in other words, something capable of delivering the full sonic benefit.

The Dataline 750 is exceptionally well made, but caters only for s-video. With a DVD source, the difference over a standard "S" lead is quite startling. On a 52in rear-projection screen, we could see richer and more vibrant colours, an increase in fine detail and a drop in background noise.

Warmly recommended, if you've got decent source equipment, and a large screen TV. 1m (£40) and 3m (£90) versions are also available.

(In fact we custom make this cable in any length from 0.5m to 16m long and terminated in either s-video and/or scart plugs at either end.)

Review of Image 5.1 by "What Video & TV",
(April 2000).

Five 0.5m phono-to-phono interconnects in a pack? An odd number, but not if you've got a Dolby Digital decoder or DVD player. It's a shame you don't get six of these robust beasties, but a 0.5m length of IC100 (listed below) proved ideal for the "0.1" (i.e. sub) channel.

These cables yield a noticeable improvement over the decoder-to-amp leads supplied by the manufacturer. Dynamics are better, as is presentation and detail. In other words, even 0.5m of wire makes all the difference.

Review of IC100 Mk 2 by "What Video & TV",
(April 2000).

These 10m phono to phono cables are rather expensive, but very well made. Despite their length they bring a perceptible improvement in finesse. A noticeable increase in low end "slam" can also be detected. In other words, these are ideal cables if you envisage making line level connection to your (active) subwoofer. We tried them in this role and were impressed! In this instance, you might be able to get away with a single cable (£148).

Another application of these cables would be the routing of sound from a NICAM VCR to a hi-fi system located some distance away from the TV. Then again, a 10m pair is almost as expensive as a NICAM VCR! Half metre pairs are rather more reasonable at £34.50 so you have a good incentive to move the VCR closer to your hi-fi and employ a longer scart lead instead.

Review of Image 5.1, by "Hi-Fi Choice",
(March 2000).

"Recommended" plaudit given to Image 5.1 by one of the leading UK magazines, Hi-Fi Choice.

If the number 5.1 rings bells in the home cinema corner of your brain, that's about right - this cable is designed as the factotum of home entertainment. It can serve, says Insert, equally well for analogue or digital audio, composite video, component video making the tea...sorry got a bit carried away there.

Well, is this reasonable? Actually yes - many folks have noticed that digital interconnects in pairs work very nicely for many analogue applications and the specification for digital is just the same as that for video. All you need is a nice, low loss 75 Ohm co-axial cable and that's what this is.

Silver plated conductors, foamed PTFE dielectric, good solid plugs and a flexible sheath make up the no-nonsense recipe and it's good ol' sound engineering practice all the way. Sold singly for digital duty (and the rest) this cable costs £45 for each 1 metre (terminated) length.

Sound Quality
If there's a weakness with this cable, it's the bass which although detailed, seemd a little distant and understated. Be it thumping or subtle, any bass that comes along is subtly curtailed. But I do mean subtly and it's only noticeable in quick-fire comparisons with other cables: leave Image 5.1 in your system for half an hour or so and one adapts completely to its balance.

Otherwise, it's really good news all the way, with detail ion the mid-range and tereble really in the top league and very good stereo imaging. including depth. Driving rhythyms are clear and convincing, gentle ballads peaceful and unforced - aided by an aparently quieter background than at least some other cables. Tonal quality on voices is not quite the roundest (this is doubtless due to the bass lightness) but then, that can be positively asdvantageous with soem plummy loudspeakers.

Conclusion

A well judged cable that sets out to deliver everything and seems to succeed. "Recommended".


Review of IC100 Mk 11, first published by What in the UK, January 1999.

The Insert Audio IC100 Mk 11 may look plain - 24 carat gold plated insulators apart - but it performs above its mundane appearance. The Teflon jacketed oxygen-free copper cable has a tight forceful midrange punch, only losing control at extremes of volume and pace. Bass is good, if not overly deep, the rhythms of The Jungle Brothers "Because I Got It Like That" being articulate, if not totally full-bodied. Equally, though upper frequency details are fine, they're not as pin-sharp as they could be."

"This is a good, affordable interconnect, that helps produce an exciting, raw and enjoyable sound."

Reviewers Opinion
Overall:
For: Exciting cable; performs with verve
Against: Fails at sonic extremes
Verdict: "A step up from 'freebie' cables and good value for money"
Price: £46.95 (one metre, stereo phono-to-phono - other lengths available)

Reprinted with kind permission of What who can be found on the web at www.whathifi.com

Review of Focus 1.2, first published by What in the UK,
(October 1998).

"Insert Audio is certainly well presented for a cable at this price, with its black (webmaster comment: actually blue) exterior sheathing and the use of high quality gold-plated phono plugs.

And sonically it's dynamic and fast, making it ideal for hard-hitting music such as rap or rock. If we have a niggle it's that the treble can sound a little prominent and sharp through this cable - so match with care - but the Insert still makes a strong case for itself." "Its certainly better than the 'freebie' cables that come with most kit."

Reviewers Opinion
Overall:
For: Impressive speed and attack
Against: Treble can sound a little sharp
Verdict: "A step up from 'freebie' cables and good value for money"
Price: £21.50 (one metre, stereo phono-to-phono - other lengths available)

Reprinted with kind permission of What who can be found on the web at www.whathifi.com

Review of IC100 Mk 11, first published by "Hi-Fi Choice" in the UK,
(March 1998).

"This unpretentious black cable is of flexible and robust design. As a pseudo-balanced type, it has two conductors insulated in low loss polythene (webmaster comment: actually Polyethylene) dielectric, with a fibrous filling - which increases dielectric loss but decreases microphony to a very low level - under the screen. Good-quality collet-clamp phono plugs are fitted, and it is rewarding to see that not only have sleeves been used under the collet to ensure a snug fit, but that the screen has been spread all around the circumference of the collet rather than being brought out to a pony tail. This can make an astonishing difference to screening efficiency at the VHF level."

Sound Quality.
"The major criticism of IC100 was its tendency to dryness. This is unfortunate, since in almost every other area it attracted many positive comments. In particular, its bass is full and extended, but still somehow rather dry and lacking in communication, as if the harmonics are attenuated. Voices are clear and well distinguished, but there's still the sense of lost resonance, like a singer with a slight sore throat who can't quite focus the note. Imaging is good on the whole, if not outstanding, while the loud passages are handled with panache, if occasionally a little roughness."

The Lab report.
"It is not clear what distinguishes the mk11 from the mk1, (so why didn't he ask, for the sake of a phone call??) but the former appears to be (in reality it is!!) a very flexible, symmetrical interconnect. A twisted pair geometry is established using Polyethylene insulated, LC-OFC (Linear Crystal Oxygen Free Copper) stranded conductors for signal and return. This holds its resistance to a moderate 126 mOhm though the 25 MOhm leakage and low Q-factor suggest its dielectric properties are not up to the standard of say the similarly specified QED Q-Nect 2. Capacitance is safe enough at 128 pF while the heavy coaxial braid (grounded at the cables source end) should prove effective against electromagnetic interference (EMI). A safe but unspectacular cable." PM (Paul Miller).

Inductance - 6% lower than group average
Capacitance - 18% higher than group average
Resistance - 13% higher than group average
Dielectric quality - 80% lower than group average
Effect on signal bandwidth - 25% lower than group average

Verdict
Sound quality:
Value
Price: £46.95
Conclusion: "Mostly good sound is let down by pervasive dryness."

Reprinted with kind permission of Hi-Fi Choice. Visit "the finest hi-fi magazine in the world" at www.hifichoice.co.uk

Review of Image 5.1, first published by "Home Cinema Choice" in the UK,
(December 1997).


Analogue Interconnects
Insert Audio Image 5.1 (one metre, stereo phono-to-phono, £89)
Sound quality
Looks
Value
Construction
"Insert Audio has designed this home cinema cable for both analogue and digital applications. It looks classy and features silver plating throughout. It has a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms.

The outer jacket is 'tech look' thermoplastic. Inside is a layer of Teflon tape covering a silver-plated screening braid and silver plated copper foil. The main insulation is porous Teflon that the maker claims enhances the definition of signals. The central conductor is 19 strands of 0.16 mm silver-plated oxygen free copper.

On test, I was extremely impressed with this cable when used as an analogue stereo pair. It had a detailed high end and also delivers good bass.

Tested with my Sony LD player this is the cable that gives the nearest performance to a digital connection. The optical link gave better definition, yet the Insert 5.1 was not far off in terms of sonic balance and detail." "Recommended."

And in the same magazine feature...

Digital interconnects
Insert Audio Image 5.1 (one metre, single phono-to-phono, £45)
Sound quality
Looks
Value
Construction
"Insert's concept of a quality 'catch all' cable seems to pay dividends. Compared with my Meridian reference, this cable is neutral. It takes nothing away, yet seems to improve fine detail. I heard little improvement on Dolby Digital soundtracks, but on piano recordings off CD, the presence and pace of the music was heightened.

I must say that the cable is very well made and can be considered good value."

Reprinted courtesy of Home Cinema Choice, which is published in the UK on the third Thursday of each month by WV Publications.

For details of details of becoming a subscriber to Home Cinema Choice magazine, click here to email the magazine. Remember to put the word subscription in the subject header.

Review of Focus 1.2, first published by "Hi-Fi World"
(February 1997).

"The Focus 1.2 assembles a sizeable and cohesive sound stage. Tonal colour spans an impressively wide range, and is evenly balanced with it. Tight, well defined bass makes the 1.2 a dab hand with rhythms and the recorded acoustic, adding to the music's sense of realism. A bargain at £20."

Reprinted with kind permission of Hi-Fi World. Why not visit the Hi-Fi World website for an authoritative view on the world of hi-fi.

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